by Medina, OH – The vibes were high at Buckeye High School on this beautiful fall evening as the Buckeye Bucks (0-3) looked to defend home field against the visiting Bay Rockets (0-3). Both teams have had equally slow starts this season, with each team hoping to come away from tonight’s matchup with their first win of the season.
The Rockets wasted no time getting things going tonight as they scored on their first drive of the contest with a total possession time of just 1:16. 2 first downs later, Rocket quarterback Patrick Cleary threw a 30 yard missile to wide reciever Ethan Sedivec for their first points of the night.
However, Buckeye quickly fired back on the next possession! After three first downs, star running back Denis Shevchenko turned on the jets and blasted through Rocket defense for a 15 yard touchdown!
Entering the second quarter, running back Brayden Sopko exploded for a 40 yard carry right into the endzone, and after a failed extra point attempt, the Bucks led the Rockets 13-7.
The Rockets took possession and looked to even the score but were unsuccessful, as Liam Philips picked off Cleary’s deep pass. The Bucks’ success was short lived however, as Ben Schrock sacked quarterback Chase Geyer for a loss of eight yards. The Rockets continued to ride the momentum and forced a Buck turnover. However, the Rockets didn’t capitalize and the Bucks retained possession.
The Bucks jumped out ahead on the final drive of the first half after Chase Geyer threw a beautiful pass to Nick Prouza who ran right through the defense and into the endzone for a touchdown! After a successful two-point conversion by Liam Philips, the Bucks went up 21-7 going into the half.
The Bucks started off the third quarter strong with a kick return by Tony Kobasuk to their own 44 yard line, starting the drive with prime field position. But it didn’t last long, as the Bucks fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Blake Williams.
Despite Colton Homchik sacking Cleary for a three yard loss, Cleary got up, shook it off, and threaded the needle right through the Bucks’ defense for a 30 yard touchdown by Brody Beggs. Both teams remained scoreless for the rest of the third quarter.
The Bucks came out of the gates on fire to start off the fourth quarter, after an eight yard carry by Shevchenko just four seconds into the final frame. However, the smothering Rocket defense blocked the extra point attempt and the Bucks went up 26-14.
The Rockets attempted to fight back, but after a sack and a penalty put them back 28 yards, they turned the ball back over to the Bucks on downs.
The final touchdown of the game came off of a four yard carry into the endzone as Liam Philips barreled right through the Rocket defense, and capped off his stellar night of football.
The player of the game for the Buckeye Bucks was Denis Shevchenko, who scored two touchdowns and carried the ball 17 times for a grand total of 135 yards, but we can’t leave out Liam Philips either! Philips also had a great performance tonight, and carried the ball 21 times, good for 140 yards and the final touchdown of the night. Brayden Sopko had a solid performance too and carried the ball six times, good for 79 yards, including a 40 yard touchdown.
For the Rockets, the player of the game was far and away quarterback Patrick Cleary. Cleary showed off some incredible talent at threading the needle right through Buckeye’s defense and into the hands of his receivers. Cleary completed 19 of his 36 passes with two interceptions and two touchdowns, and threw for 248 yards. Wide receiver Brody Beggs also had himself a solid night, with five receptions good for 87 yards and a 30 yard touchdown. Ethan Sedivec had two catches for 57 yards and a 30 yard touchdown of his own as well.
The Buckeye Bucks finally got the job done tonight, and moved to 1-3 on the season. They’ll
hit the road and face off against the Lakewood Rangers next Friday.
Meanwhile, the Bay Rockets have yet to capture their first win of the season and moved to 0-4 on the year, and hope to get the job done against the Normandy Invaders next Friday. And that’s a wrap on another great night of some high school football here in Northeast Ohio!
